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Mount Scopus (Hebrewהַר הַצּוֹפִים
(Har HaTzofim), Arabicجبل المشارفǦabal al-Mašārif, جبل المشهدǦabal al-Mašhad, جبلالصوانة) (meaning Lit. Mount "Look Out") is a mountain
(elevation: 2710 feet or 826 meters above sea level) in northeast
Jerusalem, Israel. Overlooking Jerusalem, Mount Scopus has
been strategically important as a base from which to attack the
city since antiquity. A Roman Legion camped there in 66
CE.[1] Again
in 70 CE Mount Scopus was used as a base to carry out a siege of
the city by the 12th, 15th and 5th
Legions (the 10th legions position being on the Mount of
Olives).[2] The Crusaders used it as a base in 1099. As a
result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli
War, parts of Mount Scopus became a UN protected Jewish
property exclave within Jordanian-occupied territory until the Six-Day War in 1967.
Today, Mount Scopus lies within the municipal boundaries of the city of Jerusalem.

Landmarks

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Hebrew University of
Jerusalem

Hebrew University inauguration ceremony, 1917

Construction of the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University began
in 1918 on land purchased from the Gray Hill estate. The dedication
ceremony was held in 1925 in the presence of many dignitaries.[3] A
design for the university campus by Sir Patrick Geddes positioned the university
buildings on the slopes of the mount, below a domed, hexagonal
Great Hall recalling the Star of David, as a counterpoint to the
octagonal Dome of the Rock in the Old City. [4]
This plan was never implemented, but Geddes designed the university
Library, today the Hebrew University Faculty of Law on Mount
Scopus.[4]

By 1947, the university was a solid research and teaching
institution with humanities, science, medicine, education and
agriculture departments (in Rehovot), a national library, a university
press and an adult education center. The university had a student
population of over 1,000 and 200 faculty members. [3]

Botanical
Garden

The Hebrew University Botanical Garden on Mount Scopus was
founded by botanist Alexander Aig in 1931. This garden contains one
of the largest collections of Israeli uncultivated plants. This was
the first home of Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo.[5] A cave
in the garden has been identified as the Tomb of Nicanor of Alexandria, who donated one of the gates of
Herod's Temple. [6]

Hadassah
Hospital

Hadassah nursing school under construction, c. 1934

In 1939, the Hadassah
Women's Organization opened a teaching hospital on Mount Scopus
[7]
in a building designed by architect Erich Mendelsohn. In 1948, when
the Jordanians occupied East Jerusalem and blockaded the road to
Mount Scopus, the hospital could no longer function.[7]
In 1960, after running clinics in various locations, the
organization opened a medical center on the other side of the city,
in Jerusalem's Ein Karem neighborhood.[7]
On April 13, 1948, a civilian convoy
bringing medical supplies and personnel to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus was
attacked by Arab forces. 78 Jews, mainly doctors and nurses, were
killed in the ambush. [8]

Brigham Young
University Jerusalem Center

The construction of the Brigham Young
University Jerusalem Center, owned and operated by The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Mount Scopus initially
sparked controversy due to concerns that the Mormons would engage in
missionary activities. After the Mormons pledged not to proselytize
in Israel, work on the building was allowed to proceed. The Mormon
University, as it is commonly known, commands a panoramic view of
Jerusalem and has won awards for its stunning architecture. [9]

Jordan-Israel armistice
agreement

After the ceasefire
agreement of November 30, 1948, which established the division of
East and West Jerusalem, Israel was alloted control of the western
part of the city while Jordan controlled the east. Several
demilitarized "no man's land" zones were established along
the border, one of them Mount Scopus.[10]
Fortnightly convoys carrying supplies to the university and
hospital located in the Israeli part of the demilitarized zone on
Mount Scopus were periodically held up by Jordanian troops. [11]

Article VIII of the armistice agreement signed by
the governments of Israel and
Jordan in April 1949,[12]
called for a resumption of "the normal functioning of the cultural
and humanitarian institutions on Mount Scopus and free access
thereto; free access to the Holy Places and cultural institutions
and use of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives; resumption of
operation of the Latrun
pumping station; provision of electricity for the Old
City; and resumption of operation of the railroad to
Jerusalem."[12]

In January 1958, Francis Urrutia, a representative of the UN
Secretary-General, tried to persuade Jordan to abide by Article
VIII, but without success. [11]
In May 1958, Jordanian soldiers fired on Israeli patrols, killing a
UN officer and four Israeli policemen. Ralph Bunche, assistant to UN
Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld visited Jerusalem and
Amman to find a solution, followed by Hammarskjöld himself, again
unsuccessfully. [11]

Local area commanders
agreements

The Mount Scopus Agreement signed on July 7, 1948 regulated the
demilitarised zone around Mount Scopus and authorized the Chief of
Staff of the United
Nations Truce Supervision Organization and his representative
to settle disputes between the Israelis and Jordanians. Two
Jewish-owned plots in al-Issawiya, known as Gan Shlomit or
Salomons Garden, were purchased by Mrs. V.F. Salomons in 1934 and
sold to the Gan Shlomit Company, Ltd. in 1937.[13]
This land was surrounded by a fence, but clashes erupted when Arabs
living on the other side of the fence sought to cultivate land,
pick olives and carry out repairs on homes close to the fence. The
Arabs were requested not to work closer than fifty metres from the
fence unless prior permission was granted by the Israeli
police.[13]
There were two versions of the The demilitarization agreement one
was initialled by Franklyn M. Begley, a UN official; the local
Jordanian commander and the Israeli local commander. The other was
not initialled by the Israeli local commander. Having two versions
of the map was the cause many incidents within the Mount Scopus
area.[13]
Particularly on a disputed patrol route of the Israeli police past
Arab property.

Ceasefire
violations

On July 24, 1956 in the disputed armistice line of Jerusalem’s
Mount Scopus demilitarized zone, Arabs re-occupied a house close to
Jewish property on Mount Scopus. The house was fired on by Israeli
police stationed at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, leading to a protracted fire-fight with Jordanian
Legion troops. The UN observers arranged for a ceasefire. However,
while attempting to reach the house in question to negotiate with
the Jordanians, the UN observers were severely wounded by an
anti-personnel mine.

On May 26, 1958, UNTSO officer Lieutenant-Colonel Flint was
killed by a sniper bullet while trying to evacuate Israeli police
officers on a disputed patrol route who had been killed or wounded
by Jordanian fire. Flint was within 40-50 meters of the body of one
of the Israelis, carrying a white flag, when he was hit by a bullet
and died on the spot.[13]